# A meerschaum pipe by Ahmet Govem



## Irfan (Dec 18, 2011)

I said in another post that I ordered a meerschaum by Ahmet Govem. It turned up today and it's a beauty! I've had about five or six meerschaum before, all from AND Meerschaum. I've always defended AND Meerschaum for their excellent service and prices, but I must say, of the pipes I've bought from them, two or three have been very good, and the others mediocre: nothing actually wrong with them, but somehow they find themselves in the bottom drawer of my filing cabinet. The honorable exception was an eagle claw I bought from them, which sticks in my memory as my favorite pipe ever. Oh, and I got a very reasonably priced calabash from them, which is great, too, although I'm finding I'm using it less these days.

But THIS one is in a category of its own. The carving is excellent, it passes the pipe cleaner test, the stem is joined to the shank with the pull-on type joint, rather than the screw type. Tobacco tastes great in it.

I'm going to take a photo of it tomorrow when I have some nice natural light, I'll post it here. In the mean time, I'll post an image from the website -- apologies for the double posting of this image, I just thought it was fair to Ahmet to post it with his name in the title of the post. The one I got is slightly different, as I requested: natural cream color and with a plain black stem -- I really hate those brightly colored, lolly-pop like stems that you often find on meers, I won't buy a pipe if it has one -- particularly ugly with the cream bowl. Black or plain dark stems are the only way to go with a meer, I think.

I think that Ahmet actually makes all the pipes he sells, he implies that on his website, unlike many meer sellers who act as middlemen. He states that he's a former Turkish soldier who took up full time production after he retired.

Incidentally, I don't own a briar pipe and I'm not sure I'm that keen on getting one. If I did, it would be a curiosity: I'm so happy with corncobs and meers that I don't see the necessity for the wood.


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## Jogi (Dec 4, 2009)

It's beautiful, and I'm sure yours with the black stem looks even better! Congrats on the new smoker. And I'm sure it'll smoke as good as it looks! :hippie:


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## pipinho (Aug 27, 2011)

Looks amazing! Btw how much was shipping?


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## Irfan (Dec 18, 2011)

pipinho said:


> Looks amazing! Btw how much was shipping?


Very cheap! $9.99 for DHL to Indonesia, I guess that the price from Turkey to the US would be the same. I also guess that means that Ahmet must be subsidizing it a bit, I'm sure the actual cost would be more than that.


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## Irfan (Dec 18, 2011)

Okay, here are some images, with a strategically placed MM Diplomat to show scale:


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## Irfan (Dec 18, 2011)

Talk about my poor photography skills and computer incompetence! Don't know what happened there, I get two small thumbnails.


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## Hannibal (Apr 22, 2011)

That looks very nice! I can't wait to see how it takes on the coloring....


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## leanpockets (Mar 29, 2012)

very nice acquisition! y'know i don't think I have ever smoked in a meershaum Ill have to try one now lol!


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## Irfan (Dec 18, 2011)




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## Irfan (Dec 18, 2011)

Ah, that's better! Just as a side note, I used to prefer very classic, plain, smooth surfaced meers. But I find that they are very susceptible to uneven coloring and smudges where you hold them. When they are carved with pattern, your fingers touch less of the surface, which is a good thing. It probably makes them slightly cooler, I don't know. Certainly it makes them cooler on your fingers.


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## Hannibal (Apr 22, 2011)

Thanks for throwing that last little bit in there. I was looking at a smooth meer just yesterday in fact and decided not to pull the trigger. Now I'm glad that I didn't buy it......


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## RetiredNavyIC (Jun 3, 2011)

That is a handsome pipe!


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